Gifts and Curses
by PhantomGirl1731
Summary: Another story from my series with the psychic named Max. Sam has a vision, but instead of telling Dean about it, he chooses instead to confide in Max what his vision was about. What do they know that Dean doesn't?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, long time no see eh? This is my 5th story in my Dean/Maxine series called "Gifts and Curses"...I'm working to add the rest of my Supernatural stories as well as trying to update my Jumper ones (For those of you that read those too)**

**Anyway, I want to make it clear that this particular story is set during season 1...hope you enjoy reading it :)**

**Oh...and for the sake of my consicence...though I wish I could remember the title (I haven't been able to find the book lately) this story was inspired by one from the book "100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories"**

* * *

"**Gifts and Curses"**

"So…that's three vampires, two goblins, and a fairy princess," Max said, looking at the door to Bernardo's.

"You forgot the frog-man that came in two hours ago," Dean pointed out.

"Halloween brings out the freakazoids," Sam added.

"No, the frog-man's a regular," Justin said, seated at the bar with them. "He comes in every Thursday and Saturday."

"Dressed as the frog?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Max nodded. "Later Frank!"

"Later Max!" The man in the frog costume waved goodbye as he walked through the door.

Sam and Dean raised their eyebrows, and exchanged glances, "Huh."

"He likes frogs," Max shrugged, sipping at a glass filled with beer. She pushed it away, mostly full, "Forget it. I'm done."

"Jeez, Max," Dean shook his head, "It's Halloween, you've gotta break the rules once in a while."

"So just last week when I pretended I was FBI Agent Kelsey Brennan, that didn't count?" Max asked.

"She does have a point Dean," Sam told him.

"I meant her own personal rules," Dean said, "She can only handle two beers, then call it a night."

"Hey, I can handle more than two beers!" Max snapped. "I can handle a hell of a lot more."

"How quick she forgets the tattoo-parlor incident," Justin said.

Max's face went red, "That was a freak accident, over ten more than my limit, and you swore you'd never bring that up again!"

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"Max got so wasted she thought she was a Transgenic, and got a barcode tattooed to her neck."

"Dean!" Max snapped.

"Hey, he swore it, not me," Dean said in defense.

Sam started to laugh, but caught Max's death-glare, and fought the smile, "Right…that's not funny."

"Dude, no, it's freakin' hilarious," Dean shook his head.

"Ah…Dean," Sam frowned, "It's not like you've been the brightest bulb on the tree all the time."

"And what do you mean by that?" Dean snapped.

"He means about three months ago," Max smirked. "In the bar outside Nashville."

"Dude, that's going over the line!" Dean said, wide-eyed.

"What happened?" Justin asked.

"He lost a bet and had to run around the bar naked," Max grinned. "Funniest damn thing I saw in my entire life."

Justin burst out laughing, "How the hell did you get into that position?"

"It was a stupid bet," Dean said defensively.

"Never get on my case about drinking," Max shrugged.

"She told him the last one to empty their glass had to run around the bar naked," Sam shrugged, trying to get the story out before he burst out laughing, "Dean figured she meant he had to chug the beer…Max just poured it into other glasses."

"Never said he had to drink it," Max said innocently.

"_Ladder 49!_" Justin smiled.

Max nodded, and grinned, "Dude, _Ladder 49 _was a kick-ass movie. Gotta love the bar scenes."

"Yeah, what proof do you have that that really happened?" Dean smirked.

Max pulled her cell phone from the belt-clip, and after pressing buttons for a few seconds, showed him the screen, "I got pictures to prove it."

"I'm sure we can find that on the Internet somewhere, everyone got a picture or video clip of that!" Sam said, laughing.

Dean's head dropped to the bar in shame, and he covered his head with his arms.

"Besides," Justin said, as the laughter died off, "Max's always wanted to set a good example for her brothers…so they don't get wasted and do something stupid."

Max pulled the beer back, "You know…they're old enough to make their own decisions now, and besides…what's the worst that a third can do…nothing." She saw Sam frown at her reaction to the comment, and she shrugged at him, "What? It's my last one."

"Shoulda kept the tattoo," Dean said, raising his head slightly, "You'd have your Halloween costume every year."

Max's response was a smack to the back of his head.

"Ow!" Dean snapped.

Max finished her drink, "I'm gonna go…who's with me?"

"I'm game," Dean got to his feet, "I've suffered enough humiliation for the night."

"Keep your mouth shut next time," Sam shrugged.

Dean rolled his eyes and followed them out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

_A full moon shone bright in the night sky, making the area around him visible. Sam frowned, wondering why he was in a field. Something rustled in a bush behind him, but when he turned, nothing moved, and the rustling was gone. He turned back around, and he saw a shadowy figure walking across the field, with a rifle balanced casually on his shoulder, as if he were looking for something to shoot. _

_A gunshot rang out, hitting the shadowy figure. It dropped to the ground, and Sam ran toward it. _

_A voice rang out, "Said I'd get you!"_

_The figure rolled over, and stared at his killer as the man walked up to him. _

_"That kid brother of yours is next, and last," the shooter said, as he re-loaded his double-barreled shotgun. "Then I'll be through with the lot of you."_

_Sam's blood ran cold when he heard the second voice. _

_"You won't get him…" the figure said in a calm, assured voice, "You won't get Sammy…" _

_Sam looked down at the face of the figure and screamed, "DEAN!"_

Sam shot up in his bed, breathing heavily. He looked over at the bed next to him, and panicked for a second when he saw it was empty. _Wait…he's upstairs, with Max…_Sam shook his head, and got out of bed.

Max had given one of the other spare apartments to the Winchesters, who'd finished it up for her, like Rob and Dusty did with theirs. So, when he and Dean came to town, they stayed in the apartment, not bothering to rent a motel room. Saved money, and Dean didn't have to scam his way into it.

Of course, with Dean upstairs, there was nobody to talk to, not that Dean would really be in the sharing and caring mood at three-thirty in the morning. _Or any other time, come to think of it,_ Sam thought.

Which was why, five minutes later, Sam found himself standing outside Max's door, debating whether or not to knock. It still had the sign posted on it, _'Max's apartment. Vampires and other supernatural creatures beware.'_

He knocked quietly, figuring that nobody would answer.

Max opened the door though, "Yes?"

"Uh…hi," Sam said awkwardly.

"Nightmare?" Max asked.

"Yeah."

"Seems to be a lot of those goin' around," Max said, "Come in."

Sam walked past her into the apartment.

"Keep your voice down, Dean's still sound asleep," Max told him.

Sam nodded, then asked, "What're you doin' up?"

Max frowned thoughtfully, "Huh…let's see…you drowned at about one, I saw my mother get killed by the demon again at two, then Dean got crucified to a wall a half hour ago." She shrugged at Sam's horrified look, "Like I said, lot of nightmares goin' around tonight." She walked back into her living room, "What about you?"

"Same," Sam admitted, "Well…nixing the death of my mother and myself…I saw Dean die."

Max grabbed the remote control, and frowned again, "Something tells me that this wasn't your normal naked-in-class-nightmare."

Sam sighed, and plopped down on her couch.

"You think it was a vision?" Max asked, sitting down beside him.

"I do," Sam frowned. "It felt different."

"Visions always do," Max agreed.

Sam glanced at the television screen, and did a double take, "Is that girl about to bite a pencil?"

"And chew on it for a few seconds, then spit it out," Max smiled. "And they say you mature as you get older."

"How old is that girl?" Sam asked.

"Eighteen," Max shrugged, "Her birthday was a couple of months before mine."

"You're kidding."

"'Fraid not," Max said, hitting the play button.

Laughter was heard off screen, and the pencil cracked as it snapped. The girl chewed on it, with a disgusted look on her face.

"Tastes like wood," The girl grimaced, spitting it out.

"Pencils normally do, Lacy," Max said, her face going in and out of the frame. She and the others were laughing, before a group 'Ewwww' started.

The camera shifted, and a boy held out his tongue, showing a chewed up dollar on it.

"God…David!" Another girl groaned.

David took the dollar out of his mouth, and shook the drool away.

"Agh!" The group said in disgust.

He then attempted to stick the dollar to the brick wall behind him, but it instead stuck to his hand. He improvised and stuck the dollar to his forehead.

Max stopped the tape, and shook her head, "What's sad, is that David got a picture of that, and has it on his MySpace page."

"Dollar on his forehead?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, the caption reads,_ 'This is me at 17'_…how original," Max rolled her eyes. She shook her head, "Yep we were a whole gang of idiots…" She smiled, "Always good for brightening up a person's bad mood."

"Yeah," Sam agreed, shaking his head, "My friends were never like that."

Max opened her mouth, then shut it quickly, "Bad Max…" She smacked herself on the hand.

"No, Dean was never like that," Sam told her.

"Sorry…reminiscing to the good old days…brought back a lot of sarcasm," Max shrugged.

"And that's different from you…how?" Sam asked.

Max rolled her eyes, and threw a pillow in his face. "So…your vision."

"Did we have to get back to that so soon?" Sam whined.

Max rolled her eyes, and hit the eject button on the videotape. "Unless you want to help me go through old things."

Sam frowned, "Didn't you used to have a bar in your kitchen?"

Max grabbed the tape, and headed for the counter top filled with boxes. "Couldn't sleep, decided to go through things…"

Sam followed, and sat down at the bar. He grabbed an old shoebox, and found pictures inside. "They do make these things called photo albums, you know."

"Yeah, well, this is easier," Max shrugged, adding the tape to a box and shoving it under the counter.

"Why is it that at four in the morning, you people can be wide awake?" Dean asked tiredly, stumbling slightly as he came down the stairs.

"We're freaks," Max shrugged, "Grab a box."

Dean sat down next to her at the bar, "I thought cleaning was in the spring."

"It's not cleaning," Max said, "Wait…I need the computer…I'll be back." She got up, and headed upstairs.

"Why does she need the computer?" Dean yawned.

Sam didn't answer, just went through the pictures.

"I'm gonna take that overwhelming silence as a sign that you had a vision?" Dean continued.

"Hey, look at that," Sam finally said, showing Dean a picture, "Max got a blue ribbon in a science fair."

Dean rolled his eyes, "So she was a science queen, what's the big deal?"

"She had to be in the eighth grade here," Sam murmured.

"Sam!" Dean snapped.

Sam finally looked at him, "What?"

"You had a vision," Dean said, "That part's obvious, what was it about?"

"Guy in a field," Sam went back to the pictures, "Got shot…someone wanted to finish off him and his brother."

"Can you give us a little more than that, Sam?" Max asked, coming back into the room carrying her laptop under her arm, and the power cord in her hand. She plugged in the laptop, and pushed the screen up, "Like say…anything?"

"Did you see who got shot?" Dean asked, "Or the shooter?"

Sam shrugged, and replied, "It was dark…I didn't see much."

Max rolled her eyes, as Dean sighed and reached into a box.

"Box within a box," He said, and looked at the cover. "Max's report cards, huh?"

Max was logging into the Internet, more focused on her computer, and she shook her head, "What?"

Dean already had the box open, "_'Max is a bright girl, but she needs to work on staying awake in class.'_"

That got Max's attention, and made a grab for the papers. "Dean, give me those!"

Dean grabbed another one, and moved out of her reach, "Ooh, freshman year…" He looked through them, "Huh…those are things that don't seem to belong together…"

"What doesn't?" Sam asked.

"Criminal justice, and beginning dance," Dean said, glancing at Max with raised eyebrows. "A ballerina cop?"

"Shut up," Max rolled her eyes.

Dean read through the report cards, "Jeez…all A's Max? You never struck me as the straight-A student."

"And I slept through most of senior English," Max shrugged. She typed into the laptop, and waited for a few seconds.

"Huh…Clarissa," Sam said, cocking his head.

"What about her?" Dean asked.

"_'Best friends forever,'_" Sam read, showing Dean the picture.

Max and Clarissa smiled back at him from the picture, both probably sixteen years old.

"Worked out swell, didn't it?" Max grumbled. She squinted at the screen, then rubbed her eyes, "Freakin' psycho eyes…that should've been a clue right there…"

"What should've been a clue…what the hell?" Dean raised his eyebrows, as Max leaned back as far as she could from the screen.

"For your first question," Max said, reaching over to click a button, "I was the only one in the O'Reilly family who needed glasses of any kind. A clue that I really didn't belong." She frowned, "And contrary to your belief, my brain ain't workin' as well as it would at normal hours in the morning, and I have no freakin' clue where my glasses are. Can't read things close up…gotta play contortionist to see."

"Well? Do you have anything?" Sam asked.

Max squinted at the screen, "Either it says Mulder N Tea Kettle…or Murder in Tennessee."

Dean looked at the screen, "The second one, Max."

She shoved the laptop toward him, "You read, I can't see a thing."

"All right," Dean said, "Murder in Tennessee…in a mountain town, I guess…" He shrugged, and continued, "A man was murdered on his property, police have no leads, no nothing."

"Good shooter?" Max asked.

"No evidence there had even been someone else with the victim when he was killed. No footprints, no broken branches, nothing."

"Huh…" Sam frowned.

"Why even get a vision then?" Dean asked, "I mean, the guy's already dead."

"He said that he'd be finished with the lot…" Sam explained, "He's got family, and whatever killed him isn't finished yet."

"What a joy," Max sighed. "So, we're goin' to Tennessee?"

"Just no more bets that involve running around naked," Sam smirked.

"Next person to bring that up is gonna get something hurled at them, got it?" Dean snapped.

"Sure, whatever," Max rolled her eyes, smiling slightly. "Still funniest thing I saw in my life." She caught the ball Dean threw at her, and looked at it, "I wondered where this went…"


	3. Chapter 3

"Put the spoon down, Dean."

Dean froze, plastic spoon in his hand, poised to stick it in Sam's partially open mouth.

"Come on, Max," Dean whined, "It'll be funny."

"Once is funny," Max said, opening her eyes. "Unless you want another beer bottle glued to your hand."

Dean winced, then glanced at Sam, "He wouldn't do that again…he couldn't."

Max rolled her eyes, "Well, that, and he's gonna wake up soon."

"Yeah, probably," Dean agreed, eyes going back to the road.

"I mean it," Max said, and checked her watch, "Three…two…one…"

"Dean!" Sam yelped, nearly hitting the Impala's dashboard.

Dean's glance went from Max to Sam, before going once more to the road. "What is it Sammy?" He asked.

Sam shook his head, "What do you mean?"

"You just said my name," Dean answered, "What did you see?"

"Nothing," Sam shook his head.

Max rolled her eyes, and stared out the window.

Dean's gaze went to her, "What?"

She looked at him innocently, "What do you mean, what?"

"You knew when he was gonna wake up," Dean said.

"I'm psychic," Max reminded him. "His nightmare woke me up."

"Come again?"

"Dean, just drop it," Sam told him.

"No," Dean snapped, "So what? You're sharing nightmares now?"

"No," Max said, shaking her head. "I can't explain it…like something smacking me in the head…then I was awake."

Dean frowned, and kept his eyes on the road. "So, what did you see, Sam?"

"The same thing as before," Sam said, rubbing his head with his knuckles. "No new ground there."

Dean looked at the both of them again, knowing he was the odd man out on this hunt…even an blind man could see that._ Why did he tell Max, but not me?_

"So…" He then asked, "Sam, take a look at the map, how far away are we?"

Frowning, Sam pulled the map out of the glove compartment. "We passed into Tennessee four hours ago, right?"

Dean checked his watch, "Yeah, sounds about right."

"I'd give it two hours, at most," Sam said, folding the map, "Probably sooner than that."

_It's gonna be a long two hours, _Dean thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Dean pulled the Impala to a stop at the first hotel they saw. "We're here."

Max handed him the stash of plastic spoons, markers, and super glue, "Here's your stuff back."

Sam smirked, and Dean glared at him as the three got out of the car. They walked into to the reception desk, and asked for a room.

"We're full," The clerk snapped.

Sam and Dean exchanged glances, then looked at the parking lot, where the Impala sat with three other cars.

"We don't care for that freaky stuff here," The clerk continued.

"Two brothers and their friend is considered freaky around here?" Max asked, frowning.

"Well…no," The clerk frowned, then eyed Sam and Dean suspiciously, "You sure they're brothers?"

Max raised her eyebrows, "Uh,_ yeah._"

"No freaky stuff in that room," The clerk said, holding out the room keys, "I got ears like a—"

"We get it," Max cut him off, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "No freaky stuff, got it." She grabbed the keys, and her fingers touched the old man's.

_"No good city folk comin' here…messin' up our way of life!"_

Max yanked the keys out of the man's grip, and frowned at her actions, "Sorry about that…"

The clerk continued to glare at them as they left the room.

"You suddenly get the feeling you're being watched?" Max muttered as the doors closed behind them.

"Do you have to ask?" Dean agreed.

"I'm startin' to think maybe it wasn't supernatural after all," Sam said, "Maybe it's just a freaky mountain town that my vision showed me."

"It's the vision that makes me wonder," Max handed him a key.

Dean opened the trunk, and grabbed their bags. "Dude, why is it that they always think we're gay?"

"I dunno," Sam shrugged.

"I don't think it's everybody," Max told him, "Just…a select few."

"Yeah, but traveling with a girl should give us the benefit of the doubt," Dean grumbled, slamming the trunk closed.

"Guess not," Max shrugged.

"You heard his thoughts?" Dean asked.

"When I grabbed the key," Max said, failing to suppress a shudder. "He was thinking, that people from the city mess up their way of life."

"Small town…people have their own way of life…trust their own, but not outsiders," Sam agreed. "Explains the feeling of being watched."

"But that's only one guy's opinion," Dean replied.

"He's got a point," Max agreed. "Still…I don't like this place."

"So…we need to talk to the family," Dean said, "How do you guys wanna go about doing that?"

"You boys can to talk to the family," Max told him, "I can ask around, see what I can find out about them."

"Why us?" Sam asked.

"Because if needed, the two of you can dress up like priests," Max shrugged, "No nun's outfits in my bag, sorry."

"Aww, darn," Dean rolled his eyes.

"Moving on," Max said. "I'll also see what I can find about the land…always a bonus."


	5. Chapter 5

"Okay, let's get this straight," Dean said, pulling the Impala to a stop. "We work for their insurance company."

"Just dotting some I's and crossing some T's," Sam said. Dean frowned at him, and he frowned back, "What?"

"Dude, that's lame," Dean said.

"You were the one that said it!"

Dean smirked, and got out of the car. "Well, that's different, it was cool when I said it. Not cool when repeated."

Sam rolled his eyes, then got out as well, "Whatever you say, Dean."

That was when they heard the gunshot.

"I get the impression we were a little too late," Dean grimaced, as they walked around the corner.

A man was lying in the street, half of his side blown away.

His shooter emerged from a clump of green briars nearby. He broke the double-barreled shotgun, flicking out the empty cartridge, then blew down the barrel, sending a stream of smoke out of the chamber. "Said I'd get you."

The man lying on the ground looked up at him, confusion in his eyes. "Who…are…?"

"That kid brother of yours is next and last. Then I'll be through with the lot of you." The man loaded a fresh cartridge and closed his gun with a snap, then he vanished into thin air.

Sam's eyes widened as he heard the words from his nightmare.

"Kevin!" Another man's voice called. "Oh my god…"

"We gotta get outta here," Sam said, heading back to the Impala.

Dean waited until he heard another door slam before starting the Impala. Though the chances were slim, he didn't want that other guy hearing and taking down the "suspicious car's" license plate number.

* * *

"Another one?" Max asked, holding her cell phone to her ear while sitting in the local coffee shop.

"Yeah," Dean told her from the other end of the line. "Maybe a minute after we got there."

"But…does that mean it's done?" Max frowned.

"No…told the guy his kid brother was next, and last," Dean answered. "So…I'm thinking it's safe to assume the other guy that ran out was his brother."

"Lovely," Max sighed.

"Sam seemed pretty freaked by the whole thing," Dean added quietly.

"Well…he saw it," Max answered.

"I don't know…" Dean sighed. "You find out anything?"

Max frowned as three teens walked in, and sat at her table, both watching her intently. "Dean…I gotta go."

"Wait, Max—"

Max shut her phone, and stuck it in her pocket. She looked at the three, two were boys, one a girl. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Mike," the boy seated in the middle said, "This here's my associate, Josh, and my girlfriend, Hallie."

"Associate?" Max repeated.

"Business partner," Josh answered.

Max raised her eyebrows, folding her arms.

Hallie rolled her eyes, "They sell candy, trading cards…just a bunch of junk. Anyway, we heard you were askin' around about he Simmons's place."

"I heard the Turner brothers owned the place now," Max frowned.

"They do, now. But way back when, the Simmons brothers owned the place," Hallie explained.

"This guy, Joe Ed…he shot two of the brothers," Mike began. "Killed 'em both."

"It was said that Arnold, the middle brother, swore he wouldn't let Joe Ed kill his younger brother, Isaac. So, when Joe Ed tried to kill Isaac, he couldn't do it…and eventually died…but nobody could explain how," Hallie added.

"The legend goes," Josh now chimed in, "That the land's cursed. You see, the Simmons brothers weren't from here…they were from Carolina or Virginia…nobody was ever sure. So, if someone moves onto the property, and ain't from Tennessee…well, they all die. They say it's Joe Ed…since he never did kill Isaac, he's stuck on the land."

"Does he kill them all?" Max then asked.

"It's because he's trying to get rid of the outsiders," Mike said. "But yeah, he kills them all."


	6. Chapter 6

When Max got back to the motel, she saw Sam sitting on the bed, eyes focused on the laptop. "Where's Dean?"

"Went for food," Sam said, blinking and rubbing his eyes.

Max sat on the opposite bed, and asked, "What did you see in your vision…exactly?"

"I told you what I saw," Sam frowned.

"You told me you saw Dean die," Max corrected. "And in the past couple of months, I have seen him die many different ways." She frowned, "And…you didn't tell Dean."

"You think maybe I should have?" Sam asked.

Max squirmed, "I don't know…as a personal opinion, I don't think I'd want to know…but I'm not Dean…" She shook her head, "But what did you see?"

Sam sighed, "Basically what we saw today…except it was night…and Dean was the one that got shot." He frowned, "So wait a second…" He snapped, remembering what she'd said when he'd told her originally, "you've been having visions of us_ dying?_"

"No!" Max shook her head, "They're just nightmares! I know it…and we're not talking about what I see when I close my eyes, we're talking about what you see!"

"Well, you know what I saw," Sam said. "And—"

He cut off when the door opened. Dean walked in, and frowned when the sound abruptly ended. He put the paper bag he held on the table, and looked at the two, "What?"

"Nothing," Max said. She got up and grabbed her bag, pulling out her laptop. "These kids told me about a legend on the Simmons place…it fits with the shootings."

"What? Like…a curse on the land? A poltergeist that stuck to the house?" Dean frowned, "Wait…Simmons place?"

"Yeah…the Simmons family were the original owners," Max said, booting up the laptop and logging into the Internet, "Story goes, this guy, Joe Ed shot two of them, but was killed before he killed the third."

"You think that it's the same guy?" Sam asked.

"Why?"

"Well, the Turners aren't from around here, at least that's what I heard," Max shrugged, typing on the keys. "They're brothers, which fits two parts to the pattern of outsiders and brothers. I'd like to know how Joe Ed died exactly…but I think it's a safe bet we're dealing with him."

"And I thought those creepy human-hunters were bad," Dean shuddered, pacing around the room. "I just thought they'd gone crazy…didn't know there were more."

Max looked up from her laptop; "Joe Ed didn't murder them just 'cause he was tired of hunting animals. He was trying to get rid of the outsiders. To…I guess in a way purify the town."

"Still," Dean rolled his eyes. "He's a crazy son of a—"

"I got it!" Sam announced. "He was killed by a knife to the throat. The witness said he stabbed his own throat…tore into his jugular vein."

"That would do it," Max rolled her eyes. "So…does it say where he's buried?"

Sam clicked a few keys, then shook his head, "No."

"Okay…so we get the youngest off the property until it's resolved," Dean said. "We find the bones, then torch 'em."

"And how do you propose we get him off the property?" Max asked. "He's not gonna want to leave, not with a psycho killer pickin' off his family one by one."

"So if he doesn't leave his house—"

"He'll leave the house…but he's not gonna want to leave his property," Max shook her head.

"So what do you suggest?" Dean asked.

"Well, we've got to talk to that brother," Max said. "Preferably_ before _he gets killed."

"Fine by me."

"Anyone got a plan?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I do," Max told him.

* * *

"Paranormal investigators?" Andrew Turner said, raising an eyebrow at the trio.

"I understand it's a little strange," Max said, then frowned, "Actually, that's an understatement. But, we think your brothers' deaths were the work of something otherworldly, and we want to help you."

Andrew gripped the door, and Max feared he was about to slam it in their faces. "And how would that help me?"

"You've heard the stories, haven't you?" Sam asked, "About the Simmons brothers?"

"Well, yeah, but…" Andrew squirmed.

"We think it might happen again," Dean chimed in. "And to answer your question, we can stop that. You'll live through this, and be able to live here without something out to get you."

"You guys are crazy," Andrew said, gripping the door even tighter.

"Andrew," Sam said quickly, "You found your brother, right?"

Andrew's gaze darkened, and he swallowed roughly, but didn't answer.

"Did you see his killer?" Sam asked.

Andrew's gaze grew panicked.

"Well?"

"He…I was seeing things," Andrew shook his head.

"What do you think you saw?" Sam asked.

"He…he vanished," Andrew admitted. "Into thin air, he just disappeared."

"I hate to break it to you," Max said, "But normal beings don't do that."

"So…you can do something to make it go away?" Andrew asked. "Like an exorcism or something?"

"Yeah…I just don't know if it's an exorcism we need to do," Max answered.

Andrew frowned thoughtfully, then stood aside.

Sam walked in behind him, and Max turned to Dean, "Like my mother always said, honesty is always the best policy."

"Your mother didn't hunt demons," Dean reminded her, following Sam into the house.

"In the event that honesty is the worst, lie your ass off and hope nobody finds out," Max said, and at Dean's confused look, she smirked, "She told me Kelsey said it."

"Living up to your real mother's expectations, aren't you, Max?" Dean asked, closing the door behind them.

"Makes me wonder what my father's expectations were," Max muttered.


	7. Chapter 7

"So the land's cursed," Andrew said.

"That would be the gist of it, yeah," Max answered.

"And your friends are…"

"Putting salt around the windows and doors, and all other openings into this house," Max said.

"Why?"

"Salt is a spirit deterrent. Keeps 'em out of here, while we figure out how to get rid of the guy haunting this place."

"And how are you guys gonna get rid of it?" Andrew then asked.

"Burning the bones, most likely," Max shrugged.

"And that will get rid of him?"

"You ask a lot of questions," Max told him.

"Well…I never really believed any of this stuff existed," Andrew shrugged. "My brother did though…he was a member of this website…"

"Hell hound's lair dot-com?" Max asked.

"Yeah," Andrew nodded. "Said they had footage of this guy…Mordechai Murdoch…that he was real and what not."

"Strange what people put on the Internet," Max rolled her eyes. "Ah…that legend never changed, right? He's not allowed to leave his house, right?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Andrew frowned. "Why?"

"Just askin'," Max shrugged.

The door slammed, and they could hear the Winchesters bickering as they entered the room.

"What's the topic of the day?" Max asked, "Someone put too little salt in the salt circles?"

"Oh no, nothing like that," Dean shook his head, "Sam just saved me from the killer squirrel."

Sam's face was red, "I didn't see it…I just heard something…and it could've been that ghost—"

"So when he heard the twig snap, he yanked me out of the way," Dean said, rubbing his side. "I hope you weren't too attached to that potted plant on your back porch…"

Andrew gave a weak smile, "No…actually, I hated that plant. The thing just wouldn't die."

"Well…either it went to the big greenhouse in the sky…or it's gonna take root in your backyard and spawn with the tomato plants," Dean shrugged.

"Mystery tomatoes…that'll do well on the market," Andrew rolled his eyes.

"So…everything's salted?" Max asked.

"Yep, all doors and windows, and any other opening that we could find," Dean nodded.

"Good…" Max nodded.

"So…now what do we do?" Andrew asked.

The three exchanged glances, "Well…like I said…we should probably try and salt and burn the bones."

"Okay…so…get to it," Andrew told them.

Max frowned, "Okay…you heard the man." She said with an eye-roll, "First thing's first, figure out where he's buried."

Over an hour later, the three hunters, along with Andrew who insisted he come along and help, were sitting in the local library, searching for what happened to their supernatural sniper.

"I've got something!" Andrew said, using his fingers to skim the lines, "Okay…it basically says that the murder weapon was taken by police as evidence, and the body was burned."

"Dammit," Sam grumbled under his breath.

"You think maybe the murder weapon's cursed?" Max asked.

"It's gotta be," Sam agreed, "There's nothing left of him."

"Looks like we're just gonna have to break into that evidence lock-up," Dean shrugged, "Does it say where it is?"

"Probably in a police station," Andrew frowned.

"What police station?" Max asked, "A local one? Some one outside of town, what?"

"Oh," Andrew said, and went back to reading. "The local one."

"So…like I said, break into the lockup," Dean said.

"Isn't that illegal?" Andrew asked nervously.

"Just a little bit," Max told him. "But for you…it's not."

"How?"

* * *

"You sure about this?" Andrew asked, swallowing roughly.

"Well…Max is the one with all the ingenious plans today," Sam admitted. "If it doesn't work…well, hopefully they can figure out a way to get out of this."

"Okay…" Andrew said, and walked over to the officer. His voice wavered as he said, "Sir, I'd like to report a crime…"

_Oh god please let this work_…When Sam saw that Andrew had the officer in charge distracted, he motioned for Dean and Max. They both slipped by, unnoticed, and down the hall marked PRIVATE.

"Phase one, complete," Max whispered.

Outside, Andrew struggled to keep the officer distracted. "Yes sir, this prowler…he's been destroying things. Why, just this morning I walked outside and saw a few potted plants knocked over. Thought I caught him two nights ago sneaking around the property."

He could tell the officer didn't believe him, he wasn't that good at lying.

"You're not believing a word of this, are you?" Andrew finally asked.

"No, I'm not," The officer said, folding his arms. "Why don't you get out of here, and I forget I ever saw you?"

He sighed, and noticed Max and Dean reappear from the other room. "I'm sorry, sir. I'll stop bothering you."

The four met outside, and Andrew commented, "That was quick."

"There wasn't a lot to go through," Max frowned.

"Where is it?" Andrew asked.

Dean motioned at his leg. The barrel of the gun made an imprint on the outer side of his jeans, still hidden, unless one looked very carefully. He limped over to the Impala, and stashed the rifle in the trunk with the rest of the weapons. "Let's go torch the sucker."

"So…that's it?" Andrew asked, after the rifle had been destroyed.

"That's it," Max said.

"Is there a way you can check?"

Sam chimed in, "Yeah, we'll go over the place to make sure, but he's probably long gone."

"And if he isn't?" Andrew asked nervously.


	8. Chapter 8

"So what if he isn't?" Dean asked, leaning against the hood of the Impala.

"Isn't what?" Sam asked, standing next to him.

"What if Joe Ed isn't gone?" Dean clarified. "What if he's still around…lurking somewhere?"

"Well, you scanned a section of the land, I went over a section, Max is doing the rest," Sam said, "Though she is taking an awful long time…"

"Maybe she found something," Dean said, then frowned, "Or maybe something found her."

"Max went out there with an EMF reader, a hunting knife, and her .45 pistol," Sam reminded him. "Loaded with rock salt, and with an extra clip with silver bullets just in case. She's more than capable of doing her job, Dean."

"I never said she wasn't," Dean said, squirming slightly.

Sam glanced at him, smirking slightly.

"What?" Dean snapped.

"You're worried about her," Sam said, still smirking.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," Dean rolled his eyes.

"You love her," Sam added.

"Shut up or I'm gonna shoot you," Dean scowled.

"You love Max," Sam teased. "You_ looove _her."

"Sam, I'm warning you—"

"Wait…" Sam frowned, holding up a hand.

"What now?" Dean asked.

"I thought I heard a rustling noise," He strained to hear, but the noise was gone.

Dean frowned, listening as well, "Just the wind."

"I don't think so," Sam muttered.

"Where's the other EMF?" Dean asked, looking around.

They glanced to the front porch of the house, seeing the bag had been left there.

"You remember leaving the bag there?" Sam asked.

"No," Dean shook his head, and grabbed his rock-salt filled shotgun. "I hope it's just the wind…" He said, and headed toward the house. Sam could hear him say, "Please just let it be the wind."

_Déjà vu_…Sam thought, when the rustling was heard again. Before he could shout a warning, he heard the gunshot, and saw Dean drop to the ground.

"Dean!" He screamed.

* * *

Max had been walking around the property, but paused when she walked past a wooded area. The EMF reader lit up a little, and whined more as she walked deeper into the trees.

Her boots sank into the mud, almost making her trip. "Damn freak rainstorms," She grumbled.

She followed the EMF to a tree, where all the little lights lit up, and it whined loudly. She pulled it to the right, and the noise died down, and the lights went out. The same with the left, but dead center had activity. Up it dimmed, so she knelt on the ground, and sighed, "It had to be mud…" She dug into it with her left hand, "Well…on the bright side, at least I didn't need to go back for a shovel…"

After a few minutes, her fingers hit something solid. Scraping away the mud, she pulled out a hunting knife, which had probably been there for years, if she was any judge. "Houston…we have a problem…"


	9. Chapter 9

"Dean!" Sam yelled. He was about to jog over, but froze when he saw the ghost appear from the briars.

The man flicked the spent cartridge out of his rifle, "Said I'd get you!"

Instead of rolling over, Dean stayed down on his belly. He turned his head, and looked at his attacker with tired eyes.

"That kid brother of yours is next, and last," the shooter said, as he re-loaded his double-barreled shotgun. "Then I'll be through with the lot of you."

"You won't get him…" Dean said in the calm, assured voice, "You won't get Sammy…"

The ghost just watched him as Dean shifted slightly.

"You won't get Sammy," Dean's mouth twisted into a smirk, and he cocked his rifle. As he quickly got to his knees, he blasted the spirit with rock salt, "Because you didn't get_ me!_"

Sam gave a sigh of relief, and jogged over to his brother. "Thank god…"

Dean cocked the gun again, "Dammit! I thought we got rid of him! We got the murder weapon!"

Sam frowned, "But we didn't get the knife…"

"What knife?" Dean asked.

"The knife that he killed himself with," Max said, finally appearing. She held up the muddy, rusty knife. "Gave off EMF…"

"So…now we gotta destroy this thing?" Dean asked, taking the knife.

"Unless you wanna get shot," Sam told him.

The rustling began again, and after dodging a few bullets, the three ran for the door, banging on it.

"What? I thought that the ghost was gone!" Andrew frowned, opening the door.

Another gunshot rang out, this time taking a chunk out of the wall.

"Ah…we didn't get everything," Max frowned.

"And I want to get rid of the target on my back," Dean said, looking behind them. "You still got that fire goin'?"

"Yeah, get in," Andrew said, and closed the door behind them. A gunshot hit the door, and put a hole in it. "Jeez…what did you do to it?"

"Dean shot at it, and pissed it off," Sam answered, tossing salt into the flames at the fireplace.

"Hey, it shot at me first!" Dean snapped, jumping away from a window as the glass shattered.

"So would it fall under self-defense, or justifiable homicide?" Max asked, smirking as she threw the knife into the flames.

"Dude…he's going up in flames!" Andrew announced, seeing the ball of flames outside the window.

"Now it's over," Sam announced, as he too watched the guy burn.

"That's good," Andrew said, "I don't think my house can stand any more bullet holes."


	10. Chapter 10

Dean rolled over in bed, frowning when he once again found himself alone. He didn't hear any voices downstairs, so he assumed that if Max was up and about, she was alone. He got out of bed, and drowsily walked down the curved staircase.

Just as he thought, Max was sitting alone, at her bar, once again going through the many boxes she'd put there.

"Didn't we already go through this?" He asked.

Max didn't say a word.

Dean frowned, and walked toward her. He then rolled his eyes, and pulled the earphones out of her ears.

Max jumped, and looked at him, "What are you doing up?"

"I was afraid you and Sam were having another party that I wasn't invited to," Dean told her. "What're you doin' up?"

"It's been sitting here for a week, since we got back," Max sighed. "Just wanted to go through it…look at old memories and what not."

Dean sat across from her this time, and grabbed a small shoebox. "More pictures…what was it with you guys?"

"My dad was a photographer," Max answered, looking over her old school papers.

Dean frowned, "Oh…I did not know that."

"Taught photography at the University I went to," Max shrugged, "Sam would've liked my mother, she was a lawyer."

"Huh," Dean said, looking through the pictures.

"Kelsey was a freshman in college," Max said quietly. "Until that demon decided it wanted to go after me…"

"Huh…" Dean said again, and glanced at Max.

"What?" Max asked, "It can't be another picture of me and Clarissa…I thought I burned all those…"

Dean showed her the picture of Kelsey and another man, smiling at the camera. "_'Kelsey and Daniel, January 1, 1981.'_"

Max rolled her eyes, "Daniel O'Braonain. I think that's who my father was…I wonder why he left."

"Maybe he got what he wanted and left," Dean said.

Max shook her head, "No. If that were true, he'd have been gone before that. I was born in August of '81, Kelsey was already pregnant in that picture."

Dean raised his eyebrows, "Huh."

"Wonder why he left," Max frowned.

"Maybe he didn't love Kelsey as much as she thought he did," Dean shrugged.

"I dunno…" Max admitted. "I wouldn't know, I never knew the man…not really anyway."

"There is one thing we know about him," Dean said, putting the picture down.

"What's that?" Max asked.

"You have his eyes."

Max rolled her own eyes, and shrugged, "Wow…one thing besides his name."

Dean shrugged, and went through more pictures, "There's a lot of them in here…looks like they knew each other for a while."

Max remained silent, still going through old papers.

Dean frowned at the silence, "You have a parent that you don't even know, and you're not interested in that fact?"

Max slammed the papers onto the bar. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I had a mother that lied to me for fourteen years! Not to mention my Aunt Melissa, and my Aunt Marilyn…and the man who I thought was my father." She shoved the papers back into the box, "I mean, I feel like I've lived in a soap opera. My real mother was my mother's younger sister who died because she walked in on a demon who was after me at six-months old." She glanced at the door, "And I don't know if I'm gonna tell the boys…you see, I'm not really your sister, I'm really your older cousin, because your mother adopted me when mine was murdered."

"Sorry I brought it up," Dean said awkwardly.

"It's the way of my family," Max sighed, "Keep things from your family members themselves, then bitch about it to anyone in the room, whether they wanna hear it or not."

Dean made a face to agree with her, having really nothing to add to the conversation at this point.

"But…" Max admitted, "Someday, I do plan on tracking him down…find out why he left my mother in the first place…why I never knew him."

"That would be on my list of things to find out," Dean agreed.

Max's head bobbed up and down, "There's one more thing I'd like to find out."

"What's that?" Dean asked.

"Where the hell did I get the psychic thing from?"


End file.
